Dissonance
by whisperingmist
Summary: "Seijuurou, you're 23 now. I believe it's time you began looking for a bride." Those words were just the beginning of the end. The end itself took the form of an unremarkable girl, with remarkable eyes and an even more remarkable sense of determination. (Fem!KurokoxAkashi)
1. Chapter 1

**Author Note -** Yeah well, I really shouldn't be starting another story. But AkaKuro tortured me in my dreams and this thing came out.

 **What to expect -** Arranged Marriage, Female Kuroko.

 **DISCLAIMER** \- I don't own Kuroko no Basuke.

* * *

Akashi Seijuurou's morning began like any other. He woke up at five and changed into his gymshorts, getting ready for his morning workout routine. After customizing his treadmill to his optimum speed, he began running.

Exactly after an hour and half, a maid came in to inform that breakfast would be served in half an hour, just enough time for him to shower and get dressed.

He went down for breakfast at exactly seven, and began browsing through the stock market updates for the day on his tablet, while his breakfast was being served.

His schedule for the day then arrived via e-mail, courtesy of his dependable secretary. As he was scrolling through the schedule, he received his first surprise for the day.

He had appointments only until 12.

Seijuurou frowned. He was confident that there was supposed to be a board meeting today, immediately after lunch. He was also perfectly sure his secretary could not have made such an amateur mistake.

Which meant only one thing.

His father was somehow involved.

He tried to control his emotions by sipping a cup of his coffee, but that only spurred his anger more, because some incompetent fool had added sugar of all things to his morning coffee. He had half a mind to fire all those who were present in his immediate vicinity, but he restrained himself. He would unleash all of this anger at his acquisition meeting.

Leaving his breakfast almost completely untouched, he walked toward his car. He was 23 years old. He could deal one meeting with his father.

* * *

"Seijuurou. I heard you successfully attained the Kawahada Corps today."

He politely inclined his head.

"You should have sought Yuzuki-san's advice. You're still young and-"

He tuned out the rest of his father's criticism, used to them for 23 years. He nodded at the appropriate places, making all the required noises.

Having finished his rant, Akashi Masaomi finally looked ready to talk about the matter at hand.

"Seijuurou, you're 23 now. I believe it's time you began looking for a bride."

Seijuurou looked at his father in surprise. His second surprise of the day. Of all the things he thought his father would talk about, marriage was the absolute last thing he expected it to be.

He knew he'd have to get married at some point, for his own well-being as well as for producing an heir to the Akashi line. He hadn't expected it to be quite so soon.

"Do you have someone in mind?"

This time Seijuurou was definitely baffled. He was finding these surprises extremely discomfiting. He supposed this was how normal people who were not hyperaware of everything felt and Seijuurou promptly decided he hated this…. helpless feeling.

"No. No one in particular."

His father looked surprised, and maybe even a bit disappointed. Had he expected Seijuurou to produce a beautiful girlfriend hidden somewhere ready to be brought to his father's notice, immediately after his father took up the topic of marriage? And where did his father think Seijuurou had the time to seduce random girls when he had been busy taking over the basketball world?

"Very well, then. I have arranged for an alliance beneficial to our family. You are to go meet the girl, today."

Seijuurou suppressed a sharp intake of breath. If the alliance had been arranged prior to this meeting, without his permission, why did his father inquire about any potential love interests?

"What if I had a girlfriend?" The question fell from his mouth before he could stop it, and he cursed himself mentally.

"That would not matter now, would it? Because you do not have one. It's unbecoming of you to ask such irrelevant questions, Seijuurou. I'm surprised at you."

Seijuurou nodded. He should have expected better than to get a straight answer from his father. "Please inform Kouki of all the details regarding the arrangement. I'll be in my study reviewing today's files."

His father nodded at him. "I'll send him the file. You're to be ready at 8 sharp."

After a final bow, the meeting concluded.

* * *

Seijuurou mused at the file.

Kuroko Tetsuna, age 23, a graduate of the liberal arts from Toudai. Her file was unremarkable - her grades were average, her hobbies were reading and handicrafts, she was currently a curator of some fancy museum Seijuurou couldn't be bothered to learn the name of.

All in all, she sounded boring.

He sighed. Maybe she would win him over with her sparkling wit and dazzling beauty. He involuntarily scoffed at the thought. His father had obviously considered only one criterion regarding Kuroko Tetsuna, and that was how much wealth she could bring.

Being the sole heir of a variety of international ventures was going to be extremely beneficial to whoever married her, because _Tetsuna-chan_ did not show the slightest bit of inclination towards business.

Seijuurou stared contemplatively at the empty spot where her picture was supposed to be. He supposed he could not be so negative without even giving her a chance. Marrying her would be a favorable situation, as even though Seijuurou had the wits and resources to expand his company to international levels; it would be a long and painstaking process. That was obviously what his father had in mind, as he had arranged a meeting with this otherwise average girl.

She had nothing else in her favor to be an Akashi, but perhaps that's why Seijuurou wanted to give her a chance.

* * *

He was slightly curious about how their meeting would go. He would obviously try to make her feel comfortable, but he had very little patience for small talk. He wondered how the girl would fare against him for more than an hour.

He sighed again as he stared at his watch. She was late. Another strike against her already unremarkable personality. He rubbed his forehead, trying to quell an oncoming headache. This girl was getting on his nerves, and he hadn't even met her.

"Sorry I'm late, Akashi-san. I had a flat tire."

He looked up, perfectly ready to chastise her for keeping him waiting for half an hour, when he met eyes the most beautiful shade of blue he'd ever seen.

He took in Kuroko Tetsuna's appearance. Long pale blue hair, the exact shade of her eyes, pale skin, petite, but surprisingly feminine. She was unremarkable in every way except for her eyes. And her hair, he thought quietly, as he took in its length. He wondered if it would be soft to touch.

He stood up and gave her a practiced smile. "That's alright, Kuroko-san. A pleasure to meet you. I'm Akashi Seijuurou."

She bowed slightly. "Likewise, Akashi-san."

He noted that she did not return his smile.

They both sat down and he flashed her another charming smile. "I'm sorry to hear about your flat tire, Kuroko-san, but you could have called me. I would have sent you a chauffeur."

Kuroko Tetsuna stared at him with those beautiful eyes, betraying not a single hint of emotion. "That's quite alright, Akashi-san."

Seijuurou raised an eyebrow, but did not comment further. "Tetsuna, I- oh, forgive me for being a bit presumptuous, but may I call you that?"

It was a test. He usually caught people off guard with those 'Can I call you by your first name?' questions. He wondered how this impassive girl in front of him would react.

"Isn't that a bit too forward, Akashi-san?"

Answering a question with a question, huh? That was rather clever of her.

"Uh-yes," he stuttered slightly, to give off the expression of being shy, uncertain. Women usually loved that. "But I suppose, since we're to be engaged to be married, I thought…" he trailed off, looking at her through his lashes.

Her eyes hardened imperceptibly. He smirked inwardly. This girl was so much fun.

"I do not believe the engagement has been finalized, Akashi-san."

 _Check._

She hated him. Or this engagement. Or she had a lover. Or perhaps, he thought, giving her another of his patented smiles, it was a mixture of the three.

"Ah, my mistake. I'm sorry for being so forward, Kuroko-san."

Tetsuna nodded at him. She looked like she was steeling herself to tell him something. He was tempted to put her out of her misery by telling her not to waste her breath that he already knew what she was going to say, but a part of him wanted to hear it from her.

"Akashi-san, I would like to request a favor of you. I know we've just met, but," she hesitated, looking nervous.

He waved a hand at her, motioning for her to continue.

"I'd like you to reject me."

Seijuurou smiled serenely at her. "And pray tell me, why should I do that Kuroko-san?"

Tetsuna looked outraged. Or as outraged as she could, with her impassive façade. Oh yes, it was all a façade, for her eyes conveyed what her face and lips would not. He knew he was right in thinking those eyes beautiful. They looked a thousand times more beautiful when she was righteously angry.

He supposed righteous anger was what was going on in Kuroko Tetsuna's mind. But a part of him hoped it was not. Because righteous anger against your evil fiancé ("Soon to be", Tetsuna would have said, he thought smirking inwardly) was, just too predictable. He expected more from Tetsuna.

"Are you telling me you agree with this? You're an educated man, Akashi-san, do you really expect me to believe you have no objections with this?"

Seijuurou took in her faintly flushed cheeks and flashing eyes. So it was righteous indignation. How disappointing. This girl was so uninteresting he could cry. He decided to cut to the chase.

"Kuroko-san, as you are very much aware, I'm a busy man. You claim you are uninterested in the marriage, but are not willing to provide valid reasons. Tell me, are you even making sense to yourself?"

Tetsuna looked up at him. "I want to marry for love."

This girl was such a walking cliché. He wanted to shake her, tell her there was no love in this cold, cruel world. Not the kind she was looking for anyway. She was so unbelievably naïve. Well, not that it mattered to him anyway.

"Yes, that's all very well, Kuroko-san," her eyes narrowed at his dismissive tone, "but," he looked at her carefully, "I still don't understand why I should be the one doing the rejecting."

Tetsuna looked expressionless, but he could sense that she was ruffled, somehow.

"It's only polite, Akashi-san. You're of a higher social station than our family, so it would be highly disrespectful of me to do that."

She was lying. Her words made sense, but she was hiding something. He was interested in figuring out the truth, but not particularly so. If she so badly wanted to get out of this marriage, he would only be glad to provide an exit. He didn't want to be tied down to someone who didn't want to be with him.

"Alright then, Kuroko-san," she noticeably relaxed, and he suppressed a stab of irritation (Was he that undesirable? Or perhaps she was into women?), "I'll talk to my father about this."

* * *

He removed his shoes, coat, and stepped into the foyer, without bothering to announce his presence. It wasn't like there was anyone (other than the servants) to welcome him home.

He had a sudden, fleeting image of Tetsuna welcoming him home and he quashed the thought with surprising annoyance.

So caught up was he in his thoughts, that he didn't even notice his father come down.

"Ah Seijuurou, you're back. Come, come, I've good news."

Seijuurou looked at his father with mild surprise. His father was in a good mood. His father's good moods were rare to come by, and even rarely witnessed by him. He could probably count in one hand, the amount of times his father had been in a good mood since his mother's death.

He followed his father silently to the living room.

"I have just completed the final talks regarding your engagement-"

That was his third surprise. He supposed surprise was not quite the word, shocked would be more like it. The fact that he was an Akashi was the only reason he maintained his composure. The intensity of his anger surprised him; he hadn't realized he felt so strongly about this matter.

However, that was to be expected after all, it was his entire life they were talking about here. He had been happy (even though he hadn't realized it at the time) to be given a choice regarding the choosing of his life partner. To be suddenly wrested of even that- his anger was an extremely reasonable response.

That anger would change nothing though, for his father would not see reason. As a matter of fact, he was still talking. He forced himself to keep listening.

His father was talking about weddings, invitations, and formal announcements and Seijuurou couldn't take it anymore. He couldn't stand to be in the same room as him, not when he seemed actually pleased about something Seijuurou had done. Not when Seijuurou himself wanted nothing to do with this.

He excused himself, and his father still looking ecstatic (he never looked that way when he brought trophy upon trophy home, he never looked that way when he stood first in his university entrance exams, never when the whole world praised him for becoming the youngest ever CEO in Japan, never when -) waved him off.

He went to his room. After staring at nothing in particular for a while, he decided it was enough moping for a situation of this caliber.

He picked up the file that catalogued Kuroko Tetsuna's entire life history. Turning to the personal information page, he memorized the ten digits. He then threw the file across the room, where it lay strewing its contents on the floor- his first display of anger since his father's announcement.

He then picked up his phone and dialed her number.

She picked up on the fourth ring. "Hello?" Hearing her voice only infuriated him further at his helpless situation.

"Hello Tetsuna, it's me, Akashi Seijuurou."

* * *

 **Author Notes -** I am working on my other fics. I'm stuck in certain places, and switching fandoms isn't good for my muse. Rest assured, I will update as soon as my uncertainty about the plot is resolved in Alexithymia.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Author Notes -**_ Hey guys, first off, thank you so much for your overwhelming response! I loved seeing all the alerts crop up in my inbox, such a pleasant surprise! Also, special thanks to those who reviewed, you guys rock!

Then, I'm not particularly happy with this chapter, but it's necessary to move things along. In fact, after writing this chapter I got a minor writer's block, and totally panicked that whatever I write is shit. But, I'm over it now, mainly because I've been writing a bunch of Aka/everyone fics. Okay, enough rambling. Read on!

 **Disclaimer** \- i don't own Kuroko no Basuke. If I did, Akashi and Kuroko would probably be married by now. Even tho, they're like 16.

 _ **Warnings-**_ **Genderbent Kuroko, UNBETAED, sorry for any errors, grammatical or otherwise.**

* * *

Tetsuna lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling.

She felt exhausted.

She'd just returned from her 'meeting' with Akashi Seijuurou. She felt like she'd been sitting for five straight hours in Advanced Calculus, and her brain felt like it'd been wrung out dry.

No wonder the guy ran a business empire at such a young age. Tetsuna hardly knew how to differentiate right from left when she woke up a little too early. She supposed he was one of those cerebral types, but classifying him as merely cerebral would be a huge insult. He excelled at _everything_ and from the mere 30 minutes she'd spent in his vicinity, he'd managed to make her entire life feel inadequate.

And it was not because he'd pointed out her flaws or something. Oh no, he was probably too polite to do something like that. She had felt lacking in every area from table manners to _blinking_ (He blinked beautifully, a soft fluttering of red lashes that made her want to tell him, _"Stop blinking, I want to see your eyes."_ ) for heaven's sake, from merely being seen it performed so supremely by the other.

Thank God she was not marrying him. She would suffer from a raging inferiority complex, and add that to the fact that she already was invisible, she'd probably kill him in his sleep or something for being too perfect.

More importantly though, he did not match the description she'd been given.

Godly perfection aside, he was not very opposed to her idea of rejection, and for that, she was grateful.

She closed her eyes. She did not want marriage. She loved her parents and wanted to help them as much as she could but, this, this was going too far. She felt cheap, like some commodity to be traded away for something else of superior worth. Granted, many girls would trip themselves in their haste to marry Akashi Seijuurou, for he was the catch of the century.

But others didn't notice things like she did.

From the very moment they met, Akashi's stare had been nothing but assessing. Assessing her body language, her words, her expressions, making calculations based on that and playing mind games with her. She did not know what his intention was, but she was smart enough to realize she was being played.

He adapted his own body language, expressions and words to suit hers. In the beginning, his smile was polite, if a little careful, as if testing waters. Later on, it had turned into something like a half smirk, when he noted her discomfort. His eyes also had somehow become colder, his gaze more measured.

He was frustrating. Tetsuna always loved a good mystery, but something told her that Akashi Seijuurou was nothing as _simple_ as a mystery. There would be no ' _Aha_!' moment where she uncovered the final solution, and she had a sneaking suspicion that even if she _did_ uncover his twisted motivations, (They had to be twisted. No one who smiled like a politician could be planning anything _good_ ,) he'd smile that politician smile of his and pat her head for a job well done.

Well, at least he was not her business anymore.

That was when her phone rang.

She picked it up, only to see that it was an unknown caller. Before she could debate on whether she should even pick it or not, she accidentally pressed the ' _Accept call_ ' button.

That was that, then. She'd have to talk.

She pressed the phone cautiously to her ear, muttering a soft _hello_.

"Hello Tetsuna, it's me, Akashi Seijuurou."

She bit her lip, hard. Why was he calling? Oh God, she felt uneasy at the mere sound of his refined voice.

"Oh hello, Akashi-san. I didn't know you had my number."

He laughed quietly. Her heart beat faster for some reason. She just had a feeling that he'd gotten her number through creepy-stalkery means.

"That's hardly the issue, Tetsuna."

Tetsuna? Just who did this guy think he was? It wasn't the fact that he was calling her by her first name, it was the fact that she'd explicitly told him _not_ to.

"Akashi-san, I-"

"I think you can call me by my first name, seeing as we're engaged to be married."

 _What_?

"Do you need me to repeat what I said?"

She hadn't realized she'd spoken out loud. "Akashi-san, but I-"

He laughed again, though she could detect a hint of bitterness in it. "My father and your parents finalized it before we even reached home. I'm surprised you did not know about this prior to my informing you."

She didn't. How could they do this? What was she, living in the Feudal Era? "Akashi-san, I thought- couldn't you ask your father again?"

He was silent for a long time. When he spoke again, his voice was icy and the slightest bit derisive. "What part of _finalized_ do you not understand?"

"But Akashi-san is not interested in this marriage and neither am I."

"You think they care about that?" Hearing those words made her realize how difficult this must be for him too. After all, controlling tyrant or not, he was pretty much perfect (expect for the controlling tyrant part) and he must have wanted someone who was, if not equal, at least somewhere near his level of perfection.

Not some invisible girl, with a dubious degree in some college and working as a curator in some dodgy museum. She had wealth, yes, but she doubted the younger Akashi cared about that. It was nothing he didn't have himself.

"Tetsuna?"

She realized she'd been spacing out too long. "Ah, I'm sorry Akashi-san. I was preoccupied."

He let out a sigh, which made him sound surprisingly human. "Yes, it's an ordeal alright. I suppose I don't have to remind you to pretend for the cameras."

She nodded, and then remembering he couldn't see her, responded with a quiet yes.

"Well then, I suppose I'll be seeing you around. Good night."

"Good night, Akashi-san."

Before she could cut the call, she heard a quiet, "I'm sorry I couldn't keep my promise," after which the call ended.

She stared at the phone in open-mouthed surprise. Had he just apologized for the engagement? But that hadn't been necessary at all; it had been decided without either of their consents!

Oh God, now she felt bad for him. Wasn't she supposed to feel angry and frustrated she was getting married to a supposed psycho? Instead, all she felt was an overwhelming sadness. Akashi had sounded so _defeated_.

He had sounded like a normal person forced into a marriage. He'd sounded like an _honorable_ guy who felt bad for breaking his promise. _She_ , on the other hand, felt like an absolute low-life for listening to her stupid friend's words.

She had to rectify this situation somehow.

* * *

"Tetsuna, you look lovely." His words were practiced, and his smile plastic.

It was their engagement party. Or rather, the announcing-to-the-whole-world party, for which she (her stylists) had spent a long time (five hours) to look presentable. The elder Akashi had been anxious to announce their engagement to the world as soon as possible, and so she had received a curt message a week after their phone call, from Akashi regarding the details of this party. She felt a stab of resentment when she looked up at Akashi, who looked just as he had during their _dinner-date._

The reason why he was so hard to like, she mused quietly, as he led her across the halls, was that he was so _effortlessly_ perfect. He looked like he awoke that perfect, and went to bed that perfect.

She wondered why all that kindred spirit stuff she'd felt for their shared plight vanished upon seeing his smug face.

"I need to introduce you to some important people. So just grin and bear with me, okay?" He smiled down at her and she felt even more annoyed.

Was all that camaraderie she felt during their single phone call a lie?

He wasn't that taller than her, okay maybe he was, but he was the only person who made feel like she was about two feet tall.

All this pushing and pulling her around like a rag doll with half-baked explanations of ' _I need to introduce you to some important people,'_ as if she was a two-year old who couldn't count her own fingers.

She decided enough was enough.

She stopped walking. "Akashi-san, please tell me where you're taking me."

He stopped. Flashed her a smile. Too bad it didn't work on her. "You're going to meet some of my acquaintances."

* * *

Akashi's friends (she'd taken his fancy wording to mean friends) were weird. Nothing like anything she had expected.

"So pretty Tetsu-chan! You're so lucky, Sei-chan!" A rather effeminate looking man had proclaimed, within minutes of meeting her. Little did she know that he was the _least_ weird of the group.

Hayama Kotarou, an energetic kid, (even though he was older than she was, he reminded her of the kids she babysat during her destitute college years) was talking to her non-stop. "Hey Kuroko-chan, why's your hair blue? Did you dye it? Why are you and Akashi marrying? Do you like him? Are you scared of him? Why aren't you scared of him? Aren't yo-"

Mibuchi swatted him in the back of his head. He then smiled at her prettily. "I'm sorry Tetsu-chan, but this idiot doesn't know how to treat girls. Especially ones as beautiful as you."

Nebuya Eikichi had given her a nod, and then returned to his plate of food.

Mibuchi gave him a look of disdain and then shot an apologetic look at her. Without her volition, she gave him a smile. There was history here, in this group of mismatched characters, something Tetsuna envied.

She turned to look at Akashi, who was surveying them with a fond smile, nothing like the artificial smiles she received.

"Chihiro has not yet arrived?" Akashi looked at Mibuchi, who gave him a meaningful look. Akashi nodded to him, and then took her arm again.

"Let's go, we still have a lot of people to meet."

Halfway through the party, she spotted a familiar blond head. Before she could move in that direction, Akashi was already moving there.

"Ryouta, I'm glad to see you came."

Kise Ryouta, model and rising actor, turned around in surprise. "Akashicchi, of course I'll come, you're my captain after all!"

Akashi gave him a polite smile. Nothing like the one he'd given his Rakuzan friends, Tetsuna noted. There was history here too, just a different type.

"This is Kuroko Tetsuna, my fiancée. Tetsuna, this is Kis-"

Before he could complete his statement, though, Kise interrupted him. "Kurokocchi! Don't tell me, oh no! Kurokocchi is the one marrying Akashicchi? You didn't even tell me, Kurokocchi! I even aske-" he wailed, with his usual tears, but Tetsuna cut him off.

"Kise-kun is making too much noise."

"Wahhh! You didn't even plan on telling me, so mean~"

"I knew Kise-kun would tell the whole world and Akashi-san had asked me to keep the information under wraps."

His wailing grew louder.

Tetsuna was pleased to see Akashi covering up a look of surprise.

"Ah, so you already know each other. How….. interesting."

"Akashicchi, Kurokocchi didn't tell you? How mean, she knows I know you. I told her about us~"

Akashi raised an eyebrow. " _What_ about us, exactly?"

Kise grew pale. "Ahh~ The basketball team, Akashicchi. Not like _us_ us. Not that there was any _us_ to begin with." He laughed nervously.

Tetsuna took pity on the poor thing. "Yes, Akashi-san. Kise-kun told me all about your basketball team. The Generation of Miracles, was it?"

Kise perked up immediately. "Yes, Kurokocchi! I told you right, Akashicchi was Captain! And I was-"

"As expected of Akashi-san." Kise wilted at being ignored.

Akashi shot her a piercing look. "Well now Tetsuna, we can't have you addressing Ryouta so familiarly and me so formally, can we? Call me Seijuurou."

Tetsuna smiled at him frostily. "Kise-kun is my friend."

Kise glowed. "Kurokocchi, I never knew you-"

Akashi looked at him. He fell silent, but not without throwing an exaggerated grin at Tetsuna.

She turned away to hide her smile. Kise really was the limit. Remembering the way he cowered when Akashi addressed him, though, wiped the smile from her face.

Kise was, by no means a coward. The fact that he could make _Kise_ of all nervous, she looked sideways at the man walking with her. He really was dangerous, after all.

She suddenly felt nervous. She had deliberately withheld information from him, played his own game and beaten him at it. She had poked the metaphorical sleeping dragon in its eye.

She grew even more uncomfortable at the silence that stretched between them. Why was he not confronting her? Why was he not asking how she knew Kise?

"Umm, Akashi-san, I-"

"Call me Seijuurou." His mismatched eyes glowed, and for the first time in her life, Tetsuna was genuinely afraid of another human being.

"Akashi-kun."

His smile was at once terrifying and beautiful. "You really are a stubborn girl."

"I try, Akashi-kun."

He turned to her, his gaze shrewd. "Not as innocent as you look, are you Tetsuna?"

She gave him a soft smile. Before either of them could say anything, a screech of "Akashi-kun!" interrupted them.

She barely turned in time to see a blob of pink rush at her. Akashi, bless his supernatural reflexes, caught her and pulled her towards him just in time.

When Tetsuna looked up, she saw a pretty girl with pink hair and a sullen looking boy with dark blue hair standing where she had been moments before. That was also the exact moment she realized she was pressed against Akashi.

She blushed when she registered his arms around her. He quickly let go of her and she had to suppress a pang of disappointment. He had been very warm, and the room was extremely cold. His warmth had made her very aware of her bare shoulders, and she longed for the shoulder shrug her stylists had deemed 'unfashionable'.

The attractive pair had already begun talking to Akashi.

"Jeez, Akashi-kun, you never let me have any fun!"

"I wasn't aware your idea of having fun involved crashing into unsuspecting persons."

The pretty girl pouted, but flashed him a quick smile all the same. She turned to the tall man at her side. "Dai-chan, aren't you going to say hello?"

The man turned to face them, and Tetsuna felt her eyes grow wide.

"Aomine Daiki-san?" As soon as the words left her mouth, she wanted the earth to open up and swallow her whole.

The man jumped in surprise. He clearly hadn't noticed her. "Oh," he said, once he looked at her, "you must be the unlucky chick who's marrying Akashi."

The pink haired girl looked mortified, probably by the man's lack of manners, but Tetsuna hardly noticed. She was too busy wallowing at the prospect of her imminent humiliation.

"Ah, don't tell me Tetsuna, you know Daiki too?" Akashi's smile was like a razor blade.

"Nah, I've never seen her before. Would've remembered seeing this one," as he gave her a slow once-over. "Huh," he gave a surprised huff, "she's pretty."

"Jeez! Dai-chan, so rude!" the girl turned to Tetsuna, bowing for her friend's rudeness, "I'm Momoi Satsuki and this idiot is Aomine Daiki, but," she gave a thoughtful pout, "you already knew that."

Tetsuna could see the exact moment realization struck, for both Akashi and Momoi. Aomine merely stuck his finger in his ear.

"Ah! So you must watch basketball," she gave Tetsuna a fond smile.

Tetsuna nodded and bowed. "I'm Kuroko Tetsuna. Please treat me kindly."

Momoi let out a squawk of surprise. "Tetsu-chan, you're so cute! Bowing like that. Ah, she's so cute isn't she, Akashi-kun?"

Akashi nodded indulgently at her. "Well, I believe it's time to leave. It was nice seeing you, Momoi, Daiki." He looked at Tetsuna, who hastily wiped the star-struck look off her face.

She bowed at them again, much to Momoi's delight, and walked away with Akashi.

"Hmm, I wouldn't have pegged you a fan of Aomine Daiki."

Tetsuna blushed. She deserved that. She'd brought it on herself with that embarrassing outburst. But Aomine Daiki was a legend. His basketball skills were out of this world. He was one of the top players in the NBA, if not the best.

Akashi grinned, which made him look young and surprisingly endearing. "Look at you. You look-" he hesitated, "like a normal girl."

Tetsuna looked at him in surprise. "I _am_ a normal girl, Akashi-kun."

He shook his head, sending strands of red flying all over the place, "Ah no, I meant- forget it."

"Well, Aomine-san really is cool."

Akashi smiled. "You wouldn't say that if you played basketball with him for 3 years. His basketball style might be," he gave her his boyish grin, " _cool_ , as you put it, but he's a giant baby who cannot function without Momoi."

She giggled at that. It did seem that the pretty Momoi was the leash holding Aomine in check. "They make a cute couple."

Akashi stared at her, and then began laughing. Tetsuna looked up in surprise. He had a wonderful, infectious laugh that made you want to join him. She wished his smiles were as warm as his laughter. She stared at him with a smile, until he stopped, looking up at her with sparkling eyes and the hint of a smile still tugging at his lips. _He_ _has_ _a dimple_ , she noticed with a pang in her heart, _how cute._

"They're _not_ a couple."

"Yes, I figured it was something like that with the way you laughed. Akashi-kun has a very nice laugh. You should do it more often."

Immediately, the friendly atmosphere they had established vanished. Akashi's face turned grim. She wanted to ask him what was wrong, but unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on the way you saw it) a waiter interrupted them with a message from Akashi's father, requesting them to meet him.

Akashi's face turned completely impassive at that, and Tetsuna felt an unexpected wave of sadness at seeing him that way, after witnessing that he had a warmer side to him.

The meeting as it turned out was to ask them to go on stage and exchange their rings, after which they'd do the announcing-to-the-whole-world part.

Akashi Masaomi was without a doubt, a distinguished man. He had the same red hair, and piercing red eyes that his son had inherited, and the same imperious air that commanded absolute obedience.

Tetsuna thought about her father's warm brown eyes and felt a little sorry for the younger Akashi. It must have been difficult growing up in such an unfriendly environment.

The ring exchanging went without a hitch, and Tetsuna's fear (dropping the ring so that it rolled down after which they organized a search for the lost ring, while Akashi shot her contemptuous looks) became unfounded.

She was officially engaged to be married. She didn't _feel_ any different. She observed Akashi from the corner of her eye. He looked happy, _genuinely_ happy, but who knew how much of that was a façade. She had seen firsthand his transformation from friendly to intimidating. She had watched him laugh untroubled, smile with an underlying subtext of threat and look absolutely devoid of any emotion. She had yet to get a measure of this person, and she had been observing him uninterrupted for a good two hours.

Akashi Seijuurou was truly a study in contradictions.

The announcing part also went smoothly. They were just standing around, thanking people who wished them, when Akashi asked her.

"Where did you go to middle school?"

She suppressed a smile. He really was smart. It was hard not to admire him.

"Teikou."

He didn't look the least bit surprised, so she figured asking her the question was really just a confirmation.

"You were Ryouta's Japanese History tutor."

This time she actively bit on her lip to stop herself from smiling. She nodded.

He nodded back seriously at her and turned around, flawlessly continuing the conversation he had ignored in order to talk to her.

She allowed herself a small smile, now that he had turned away.

Being in his direct scrutiny was quite taxing. He had a way of staring intensely, and observing even the smallest of movements, using them to accurately decipher her mood at any given time. He must have been a formidable opponent. She recalled that he went to Rakuzan High, and wondered if he played basketball during high school, and if had, whether he had gone against Aomine.

Even though she knew Aomine was an impossible opponent, she had a sneaking suspicion that Akashi could have defeated him. She resolved to ask Kise about it later. And speaking of Kise, where was he?

She searched the crowd for his familiar golden head, and instead spotted a man with green hair and _was he wearing sunglasses?_ He saw her looking at him and immediately disappeared into the crowd.

She grew anxious. Was he a stalker or something? She was too invisible to spotted by stalkers; she had never had that problem in these many years. She shot a sideways glance at Akashi who almost looked too pretty to be a guy and decided he must be stalking Akashi.

 _But_ , she furrowed her brows thoughtfully, _would a stalker like him gain an invitation to a high profile event like the Akashi heir's engagement?_

"Tetsuna, meet my longtime friend Atsushi."

Tetsuna turned around and looked up, up, up. The man in question was hugely tall, practically a giant. He had purple hair and eyes and a packet of _mai_ _u_ _bou_.

"Ah, Aka-chin, she's so small~"

Aka-chin?

Akashi gave him an affectionate smile. "Yes, indeed is she not?"

Tetsuna felt mildly annoyed. Akashi was small too, compared to this gigantic creature. She wanted to retaliate somehow.

She pulled him away from the purple haired giant. "I think you're being stalked, Akashi-kun."

Akashi looked at her in surprise. "And how do you know that?"

She frowned. "There's a green-haired man wearing sunglasses who's following you around. What am I supposed to think he is? Your bodyguard?"

Akashi stared at her for a moment and sighed. "Shintarou."

He looked around the crowd and spotted the supposed stalker. It really wasn't hard seeing as the man was a good foot taller than the other guests, and his prominent green hair really didn't help matters much.

He raised his hand and waved at the tall guy. The man immediately grew flustered, his expression obvious even from the distance.

The green haired man walked slowly, as if being unwillingly dragged. When he neared them, Tetsuna noticed her observation was correct; a shorter man, whose eyes glowed with mirth, was indeed dragging him.

Both of them came to stand in front of Akashi, who gave them a long look. Tetsuna also noticed the taller of the two, appeared to be holding a large bowl of what appeared to be reddish looking rice.

The shorter one, (who was hardly short, he just looked shorter compared to the other man) chortled. "I told you, Shin-chan! Those sunglasses don't do _anything_ to hide you."

He turned to Tetsuna.

"Pleased to meet you, I'm Takao Kazunari and this socially-challenged tsundere is Midorima Shintarou."

The man in question removed his sunglasses. Tetsuna was somehow not surprised to see him wearing a normal pair of glasses underneath sunglasses. He had eyes the same shade as his hair, and startlingly long lashes. "Takao, shut up. Hello Akashi," he nodded at Akashi, turned to her, bowed. "I'm Midorima Shintarou."

"Kuroko Tetsuna. Please treat me kindly."

Midorima pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Akashi. I've asked you repeatedly to-"

Akashi looked at him. "I believe it's none of your business, Shintarou," he turned away from the pair, "Know your place."

Tetsuna blinked. She looked at Midorima, who had a surprisingly hurt look on his face, before trying (and failing) to look unaffected. Takao sighed. "C'mon, Shin-chan, let's go," he pushed Midorima into the crowd. Before they could leave however, she bowed low.

"I'm extremely sorry for his behavior. Please accept my apology."

She raised her head, just in time to see Takao begin laughing. Midorima, however, looked surprised, and immediately looked nervous. He really had a myriad of expressions.

She turned to walk away, when someone caught hold of her hand. She spun around to see Midorima holding it. He immediately dropped it, however.

"I need to tell you something important. Please call me when you can," he pressed a card into her hand blushing profusely, before walking away quickly. Takao clutched his belly, snickering merrily.

Midorima dragged the laughing Takao away, who winked at her and waved. Smiling, she waved back.

She caught up with Akashi who had walked away a little and was now searching for her in the gathering of people.

She wondered for a moment whether she should let him flounder, because surely he couldn't notice her presence in this crowd.

Tetsuna was fed up of being in the spotlight, fed up of dealing with Akashi's moods and all the mind games he played. She just wanted to be somewhere quiet. Home sounded incredibly appealing to her, but she doubted she'd be allowed to leave.

Perhaps if she used her low presence to snea-

"Tetsuna."

She jumped, her heart in her throat. She spun around to see heterochromatic eyes boring down at her with frightening intensity. He looked as though he was aware of exactly what she was about to do.

"Ah, Akashi-kun. I was just looking for you."

He hummed softly. "I believe you can be honest with me, seeing as it will be beneficial to both of us in the long run."

Tetsuna sighed. "Very well, then. I'm tired, I wish to go home." She'd said it casually, not expecting Akashi to actually do anything about it other than tell her something like "We can't do that, it wouldn't be proper" or some other phony excuse.

So when he gave her an unreadable look and pulled her across the crowd, with hastily mumbled apologies, Tetsuna couldn't help but be surprised.

"A-Akashi-kun, what are you doing?"

He didn't turn to look at her, but somehow she knew he was smiling. "Did you think you were the only one who hated these formal events? I only tolerate them because it helps build a good image for the company."

She smiled at his back. Perhaps this wasn't going to be so bad after all.

* * *

 **OUTTAKE 1**

 _ **One new text message.**_

" _Kurokocchi!_ _ヽ_ _(' ∇' ) /Remember I said I've to go to a friend's engagement? I'd like to go there with you~ o(^w^)o"_

Tetsuna frowned.

" _When is this engagement, Kise-kun?"_

 _ **Message sent.**_

Barely a minute had gone by when her phone flashed with an incoming text message. Tetsuna had to stop herself from smiling. Nobody could text faster than an enthusiastic Kise.

" _Ahhh! (●⌒∇⌒●) Kurokocchi replied immediately! It's on the 16th Kurokocchi!"_

She bit back a laugh as she realised exactly which engagement Kise was talking about. Oh, the irony.

 _"_ _Unfortunately Kise-kun, I'll have to pass."_

* * *

 **OUTTAKE 2** – The discovery of Mayuzumi Chihiro

Seijuurou was surprised to see the resignation form on the table. He had no idea there was someone named Mayuzumi Chihiro on the team, and he knew the members of all strings by name.

How interesting.

A short inquiry revealed that Mayuzumi was a third year who had indeed been a part of third string since his first year. Other than that, nobody had any relevant information. No one knew what position he played, even though he must have played in at least one practice match. No one could recall anything about his play style, and no one could recall anything at all about the elusive Mayuzumi.

It was as if he didn't exist.

If this were a horror manga, it would be safe to say Mayuzumi would be the mystery the self-sacrificing protagonist would be determined to solve.

Unfortunately for Mayuzumi, if this was any type of manga at all, it would be a sports manga, and Seijuurou had no qualms about declaring himself the main antagonist. Besides, the antagonists were usually more powerful and intriguing compared to the boring protagonists who only won due to plot armour.

He had Mayuzumi pinned down in three days. A truly commendable effort on Mayuzumi Chihiro's part.

He did not know what exactly he wanted from Mayuzumi Chihiro when he was searching for him, but he did know this.

No player who had played for that long had any business being invisible.

When he did find him, he realized what it was that he had stumbled upon. Here was a player who could change the flow of the game without even being noticed by the opposition. In short, Mayuzumi was a trump card.

It took a bit of convincing, but Rakuzan acquired a new type of player, the type of player who specialised in passes.

* * *

 _ **Notes**_ :

This chapter was already almost completely written. I just added some bits and tweaked it a bit. So the next chapter might take a while. Also I've this feeling Akashi and Kuroko are very OOC, but I think it's how they would have reacted when put in this situation.

Akashi is like – I'm engaged to someone forcibly? Well no harm in being nice to them seeing as we're gonna live together. There's no reason to go batshit crazy, no one is questioning my absoluteness.

Kuroko doesn't like Akashi, but can't help being charmed by him. Or something like that.

The outtakes are part of this AU, my way of trying to explain the nuts and bolts of this universe without interfering with the main story line. If anyone has any doubts regarding how a certain scenario might've happened now that Kuroko is female, please do ask. I don't mind doing outtakes about them.

Also **,** have you listened to Akashi's Character Songs? Whoo, that boy can sing. Listen to it those that haven't and fall in love with our absolute emperor! /throws self off a cliff/


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